Lesson 58

The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived.
这位老妇人很高兴能回到她居住的那栋公寓大楼。
Her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home.
她买的东西使她疲倦，而且在回家的路上，她的篮子随着每一步都变得更重了。
In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest; but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open.
在电梯里，她还在想着午餐和好好休息；但当她在自己的楼层下电梯时，这两件事都因为她突然发现前门开着而忘得一干二净。
She was thinking that she must reprimand her home help the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence, when she remembered that she had gone shopping after the home help had left and she knew that she had turned both keys in their locks.
她当时在想，她第二天早上必须为了这样一个极其严重的疏忽而训诫她的家政助手，这时她想起她在家政助手离开后去购物了，并且她知道她已经把两把钥匙都在锁里转动了。
She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open, yet following her regular practice she had shut them before going out.
她缓慢地走进大厅，立刻注意到所有的房间门都是开着的，然而按照惯例，她在出门前明明已经把它们都关好了。
Looking into the drawing room, she saw a scene of confusion over by her writing desk.
向客厅里望去，她看到书桌那边是一片混乱。
It was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced an entry during her absence.
那时已显而易见，盗贼在她不在家时强行闯入了。
Her first impulse was to go round all the rooms looking for the thieves, but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her, so she went to fetch the porter from his basement.
她的第一个冲动是去巡视所有的房间寻找小偷，但随后她决定，考虑到她的年龄，有人陪同她可能会更加谨慎，于是她去地下室把守门人请了过来。
By this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while he telephoned the police.
到这时她的腿正开始颤抖，所以她坐了下来并接受了一杯浓茶，而他则打电话报警了。
Then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter's assistance to search for any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.
然后，在恢复镇静后，她准备好在搬运工的协助下出发，去搜寻任何可能仍潜伏在她公寓里的入侵者。
They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing, as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints.
他们走过房间，小心翼翼不触碰任何东西，因为他们不想阻碍警方搜寻指纹。
The chaos was inconceivable.
这种混乱是不可思议的。
She had lived in the flat for thirty years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding; and it seemed as though everything she possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over.
她在公寓里住了三十年，是个名副其实的囤积狂；她拥有的一切似乎都被扔了出来，并被翻来覆去地翻动。
At least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her.
至少，整理那些她多年前就该扔掉的东西，现在对她来说变得容易些了。
Then a police inspector arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat.
然后一名警督带着一名警员赶到，她告诉了他们自己发现公寓被洗劫一事。
The inspector began to look for fingerprints, while the constable checked that the front door locks had not been forced, thereby proving that the burglars had either used skeleton keys or entered over the balcony.
检查员开始寻找指纹，而警官检查了前门锁没有被撬开，从而证明窃贼们要么使用了万能钥匙，要么是从阳台进入的。
There was no trace of fingerprints, but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained jewellery which the old lady said was not hers.
没有任何指纹的痕迹，但探长发现了一个肮脏的红色包裹，里面装有老妇人说不是她的珠宝。
So their entry into this flat was apparently not the burglars' first job that day and they must have been disturbed.
所以他们进入这套公寓显然不是窃贼们那天的第一桩活计，而且他们一定已经受到惊扰。
The inspector then asked the old lady to try to check what was missing by the next day and advised her not to stay alone in the flat for a few nights.
检查员随后要求那位老太太在第二天前试着检查下丢了什么，并建议她不要独自在公寓里住上几个晚上。
The old lady thought he was a fussy creature, but since the porter agreed with him, she rang up her daughter and asked for her help in what she described as a little spot of bother.
老太太认为他是个挑剔的人，但既然搬运工也同意他的看法，她就给女儿打了电话，请她帮忙解决她所说的一点小麻烦。